We Met Some Real Heroes in Brazil

While we were in Brazil we had the high privilege of meeting with two Ashoka Fellows.

Start by clicking on this link to learn more about Ashoka, the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs–men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems.

Vera Cordeiro

Dr. Vera Cordeiro is the founder and CEO of Saúde Criança Renascer [SCR], roughly translated as Children’s Health Reborn. Vera, a wife and mother of two, grew frustrated at seeing children brought into her clinic for treatment only to be thrust back into conditions that virtually guaranteed they would soon return with the same or similar symptoms. She founded SCR to take a more holistic approach helping entire families as a means of preventing recurrent childhood illness and injury.

Working with the poorest of the poor in the slums of Rio, Vera built a solid record of success. At one point, she sold her own possessions to help finance her work. Thanks to support from Ashoka and other generous donors, her program has grown to include 17 clinics.

Rodrigo Baggio

Rodrigo Baggio – another Ashoka Fellow – also lives in Rio. By his mid-twenties he owned a successful software company. In his own words, one day he woke up and asked himself, “Where will I be 20 years from now?” He wasn’t satisfied with the answer, “Older and richer.” He set out in search of a way to make a difference. It came to him in a dream. Recycling used computers to build technology schools in the slums of Rio. He now oversees a program that encompasses more than 850 such schools.

We sometimes hear that the spirit of philanthropy is something nearly unique to the US … and my own observations are that as a nation we clearly rank well above average in that area. But we are NOT unique.

Vera and Rodrigo set the bar very high. It was inspiring for me to meet them, and hear them, and see the reception they received when they spoke. One person really can make a big difference in the world.